Fluid distribution valves for distributing the water from the recirculating pump of a swimming pool, or the like, to selected ones of outlet ports for operating banks of cleaning heads are in widespread use in conjunction with modern swimming pools. These cleaning heads have made it possible to build pools which require little or no maintenance to remove dirt and other debris, such as leaves and the like, from the pool. The cleaning heads allow this to be accomplished automatically.
Conventional water distribution valves for such self cleaning pool systems typically employ five or six outlet ports, with a single inlet port. All of the ports in most of these conventional water valves are located in the bottom of the valve body. As disclosed patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,733 to Hanson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,663 to Gould, U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,455 to Pittman, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,379 to Goettil, pistons or balls have been used to open or close outlet ports leading to the pool. A cam or other member, operated under control of the movement of water through the inlet of the valve body, is rotated to selectively open one of the inlet ports at a time, with some overlap as the valve changes from one outlet port to another. The dwell time is dependent on the flow rate of water through the valve body.
A significant disadvantage of the conventional water valve described above is that the main valve body is pressurized by the water entering through the central inlet port in the bottom of the valve body. As a consequence, the main valve body must be designed to withstand the rather significant pressure which exists in swimming pool recirculation systems. In addition, a significant pressure drop takes place due to the large size of the inner valve chamber and the restricted water flow through the outlet port. This is undesirable, since the retractable or pop-up pool heads with which such systems are used operate most effectively under the greatest amount of pressure which can be applied to them through the pool cleaning system. If significant pressure drops occur, the efficiency of the pool cleaning heads themselves suffers. In efforts to compensate for the pressure drops, larger capacity pumps are required than would be the case if such large pressure drops did not take place. All of this results in increased forces operating on the valve interior, and increased costs resulting from the requirement for using larger pumps for delivering water flow under greater pressure.
In addition to the relatively large pressure drops associated with the use of pistons or balls to open and close the outlet ports, substantial bypass flow takes place when one outlet port is in the process of being closed and the next successive one is in the process of being opened. When the valve is in this intermediate condition of operation, reduced flow takes place through both of the outlet ports, since the amount of water supplied through the inlet is being split between two outlets.
In addition to the disadvantages noted above, it is possible for water in the large inner chamber of these valves to become stagnant in areas, since there is not a direct fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet. The water which is present in the valve housing to provide the pressure necessary for operation of these valves possibly can develop regions where it becomes stagnant.
Another general type of water distribution valve which has been designed for pool cleaning systems and other similar systems also involves the use of a valve outer body with a plurality of outlet ports and a center inlet port on the bottom of the valve system. Inside the valve body, a center disk with an outlet hole in it rotates over the various outlet ports to provide a sequential or selective flow of water from the inlet to the desired outlets. United States Patents which generally show this type of a system are U.S. Pat. No. 2,642,076 to Tigert, U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,269 to Gould and U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,424 to Ehret. As can be noted from the above patents, a water wheel gear arrangement, or an external gear drive arrangement, is used to rotate the center disk for effecting the water distribution. A significant problem exists with respect to this type of a valve, however. Again, as in the case of the prior art valves discussed above, when these valves operate, the entire housing interior is pressurized. This causes the internal forces to act downwardly on the center disk. The load on the center disk pushes it downward against the sealing rings around the outlet openings. Because of the large surface area of the center disk, a large amount of downward force acts against the disk. As a consequence, in order to rotate the center disk, these large load factors must be overcome. Thus, such valves have not proven to be practical in use; although from a theoretical standpoint, they would appear to be a relatively straightforward, simple solution for effecting sequential distribution from a single inlet.
It is desirable to provide a water distribution valve which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, as noted above, particularly one which is capable of passing water from its inlet to the outlet port with little pressure drop or bypass flow, which is capable of operation with a reduced amount of friction, and which quickly may be stepped from one position to another.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved fluid distribution valve for directing fluid from a fluid inlet to a selected one of a plurality of fluid outlets.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved fluid distribution valve for directing fluid from a fluid inlet to a selected one of a plurality of fluid outlets with reduced pressure drop.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide an efficient fluid distribution valve for. directing fluid from a fluid inlet to a selected one of a plurality of outlets.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a water distribution valve for swimming pool cleaning systems, for directing fluid from a generally T-shaped fluid distribution member having a fluid inlet coupled to the base of the T and having a fluid outlet through one arm of the T, with the distribution taking place at selected outlet openings in the periphery of a main housing in the form of an outer cylindrical section.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a fluid distribution valve for directing fluid from a fluid inlet to a selected one of a plurality of fluid outlets includes a main housing. The main housing is constructed in the form of an outer cylindrical section. A plurality of fluid outlet openings are located at predetermined spaced locations about the periphery of the main housing. A fluid distribution member is rotatably mounted inside the main housing member. The fluid distribution member has a fluid inlet, and is located for rotational movement into alignment with a selected fluid outlet opening in the main housing to deliver fluid from the fluid inlet to the selected fluid outlet of the main housing.